Environmental Fiscal Reform in Ireland

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday February 12, 2003 16:55 by concerned citizen of the planet

GETTING PRICES RIGHT – Moving Towards Environmental Fiscal Reform in Ireland, will take place at THE COACH HOUSE, DUBLIN CASTLE DUBLIN 2 On Thursday 20th February 2003 ENTRANCE FEE: 10 Euro, not including refreshments An Taisce Members FREE PLEASE NOTE: Seating is limited to 100 persons, maximum.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

A move towards environmental taxation is intrinsically progressive since it taxes a Bad (pollution, etc) rather than a Good (especially labour, but also capital, etc). It can and should be fiscally neutral, and it does not result in unemployment or a reduction in competitiveness. It should be an instrument to improving the quality of life since it incentivises a healthy environmental and good planning; and penalises pollution and bad planning.

The OECD advises that, ‘Ireland has made only limited use of economic instruments to address pollution issues…..Even if the Irish budget situation has improved, environmental expenditure will increasingly need to be covered by charges levied on polluters and resource users.’

Ireland keeps deferring carbon taxes -most recently for another two years- ‘though our Department of the Environment estimates of the Kyoto Protocol will cost Ireland _1.3 billion per annum in emissions trading and penalties towards the end of the decade.

This Conference aims to contribute meaningfully towards the challenge to implement ambitious and effective Environmental Fiscal Reform in Ireland and throughout Europe.

PROGRAMME

10.30am REGISTRATION

11.00am - MICHAEL SMITH
Chairman’s Introduction and Welcome

11.15am - RICHARD BRUTON
The Contemporary Irish Perspective

12.00noon - SUE SCOTT
The Fiscal System and the Polluter Pays Principle: Progress Report

12.45pm – LUNCH BREAK

2.00pm - SYLVAIN CHEVASSUS
The EEB Campaign and the Viewpoint of NGO’s

2.45pm - TEA BREAK

3.15pm-YANNIS PALEOCRASSAS
A Proposal for Environmental Fiscal
Reform – The Greek Model (as presented to the International Meeting of ELLINIKI ETARIA, Athens, November 2002.)

4.00pm - KAI SCHLEGELMILCH
The Ecological Tax Reform in Germany – Rationale, Design, Experiences, Impacts and Prospects

4.30pm – PANEL DISCUSSION

THE SPEAKERS

MICHAEL SMITH – National Chairman of An Taisce, Ireland

RICHARD BRUTON is the Deputy Leader and spokesperson for finance for Fine Gael, with a particular interest in policy matters.

SUE SCOTT heads the ESRI’s Environmental Policy Research Centre, where she has coordinated and worked on studies commissioned by Government, the EU and private bodies.

SYLVAIN CHEVASSUS works at the European Environmental Bureau, on Environmental Fiscal Reform, market-based instruments, environmental policy integration, as well as NGO liaison with the OECD.

YANNIS PALEOCRASSAS is a former EU Environment Commissioner and a former Finance Minister for Greece.

KAI SCHLEGELMILCH has worked for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, as assistant head of division on environmental taxes and energy/climate change issues, since 1999.

An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland
An Taisce’s policies are based on the view that a high quality environment is central to the achievement of a successful and sustained economy and high quality of life, that prevention is better than cure, and that partnership and dialogue are better than conflict and monologue. Its range of interests extends from the natural heritage of land, air, water, animal and plant life to the made heritage of buildings and gardens. It is also concerned with the structure, characteristics and performance of cities, towns and villages and their effects on the people and communities who live in them. An Taisce is a Prescribed Body under the Planning Acts. It has a small professional staff and its 5 000 members are spread among 20 Local Associations around the country. It seeks to educate, inform and lead public opinion on the environment and influence policy at European, national and local levels.

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
The EEB is a federation of 133 environmental citizens’ organisations based in all EU Member States and most Accession countries, as well as a few neighbouring countries. They range from Local and national to European and international. The aim of the EEB is to protect and improve the environment of Europe and to enable the citizens to play their part in achieving that goal. The EEB office in Brussels was established in 1974 to provide a focal point for its members to monitor and respond to the emerging EU environmental policy. It has an information service; runs nine working groups of EEB members; produces position papers on topics that are, or should be, on the EU agenda and it represents the Membership in discussions with the Commission, European Parliament and the Council. It closely co-ordinates EU-oriented activities with its Members on National levels.

CONTACT DETAILS:

An Taisce
Tailors Hall,
Back Lane, Dublin 8
Tel: 353 1 4541786
Fax: 353 1 4533255
e-mail: info@antaisce.org
web-site: www.antaisce.org

European Environmental Bureau
34 Boulevard de Waterloo
B-1000 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 289 1090
Fax: +32 2 289 1099
e-mail: info@eeb.org
web-site: www.eeb.org